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A Brief History of

Pennsylvania Volunteer Artillery,

Battery C

By Patrick McSherry

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Click here to read a letter sent to Charles Harnish of Battery C
Click here to see the commemorative medal issued to Battery C members
General:

The Battery saw service in Puerto Rico during the Spanish American War.
 

The History:

Battery C, Pennsylvania Volunteer Artillery was formed from Battery C of the National Guard of Pennsylvania, stationed at Phoenixville, Chester County, Pennsylvania. On April 28th, the National Guard unit proceeded to Camp Hastings at Mount Gretna and was mustered into the federal service on May 6, 1898. At the time of mustering in, the battery consisted of three officers and sixty enlisted men.

Serving with the military Department of the East, on May 10 the battery, along with Battery A, Pennsylvania Volunteer Artillery, received orders to proceed, without their horses, to Newport News, Virginia, where it guarded the Newport News Ship and Engine Building Company’s shipyards. On June 13th, the regiment was expanded in size, taking in ninety-three recruits.

On August 5, 1898, Battery C left Newport News and steamed for Puerto Rico aboard the transport MANITOBA, arriving five days later at Ponce. Initially the Battery went into camp at Ponce and was still there when, only three days after the unit’s arrival in Puerto Rico, the fighting ended through an armistice agreed to between Spain and the U.S. On August 20, the Battery was relocated two miles to Quintana Spring where it would remain. The Battery stayed in Puerto Rico until September 8, 1898, when the regiment steamed for the U.S. aboard the transport ALAMO, arriving a week later.

After arriving home at Phoenixville, the artillerymen were given sixty days furlough, reforming on November 17. Battery C was mustered out of service on November 28, at Phoenixville. At the time of mustering out, the Battery had grown to include 168 enlisted and three officers. The war ended on December 10, 1898 with the signing of the Treaty of Paris.

During its term of service, the Battery lost four men who died from disease.



Bibliography:

(As a service to our readers, clicking on title in red will take you to that book on Amazon.com)

Sauers, Richard A., Pennsylvania in the Spanish-American War. (Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Capitol Preservation Committee, 1998) . 9

Stewart, Adj. Gen. Thomas J., Record of the Pennsylvania Vounteers. (Harrisburg: William Stanley Ray, 1901) 762.

Statistical Exhibit of Strength of Volunteer Forces Called into Service During the War with Spain; with Losses from All Causes. (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1899).


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